Adjusting to campus life can be tough for any student.
But for teens with Asperger’s syndrome and high-functioning individuals with autism, making the transition to college can be especially challenging.
The University of Wisconsin—Eau Claire is attempting to help such students succeed by preparing them for the stressors they will face as undergrads. The university, a NACAC member institution, holds a week-long residential summer camp to help high school juniors and seniors get ready for college. 2018 marks the 10th year it has offered the camp.
The majority of LGBTQ youth experience negative and even hostile school environments, according to a new report from the Human Rights Campaign.
The advocacy group surveyed roughly 12,000 students between the ages of 13 and 17 who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer, and found that 70 percent had been bullied at school because of their sexual orientation.
“By focusing on retaining low-income students, rather than just enrolling them, the college raised its graduation rate to 54 percent from 32 percent in 2003,” according to a recent New York Times article. “And for the last five years, it has awarded more bachelor’s degrees to African-Americans…than any other nonprofit college or university in the country.”
Officials from the university — a NACAC member institution — say data analysis and targeted supports have helped boost student success. Advisers monitor the daily progress of the school’s 40,000 undergrads and act quickly to provide assistance at the first sign that a student is struggling.
The number of colleges still accepting applications for Fall 2018 continues to grow.
More than 550 institutions have openings, financial aid, and housing available to qualified freshmen and/or transfer students, according to NACAC’s College Openings Update.
When survey data was first posted on May 3, the list included 422 colleges and universities. Since that time, dozens of additional institutions have added their information. The update, which includes public and private schools, will continue to be modified by colleges and universities through July 2.
More than 450 colleges and universities still have openings, financial aid, and housing available to qualified freshman and/or transfer students for the Fall 2018 semester, according to NACAC’s annual College Openings Update.
Both public and private colleges and universities are included on the list.
The update will remain on NACAC’s website through July 2. Colleges have been asked to modify their listings as the number of openings at their institutions changes.
Getting into college is just the beginning, former First Lady Michelle Obama told a group of Philadelphia students Wednesday.
The next step? Having the courage to make connections and ask for help.
“Some of you may be the first or only people from your family or your community to even take this step — and that might feel a little scary,” Obama told the teens, who were gathered to celebrate College Signing Day. “…But when you hit those roadblocks, when you have trouble in that class, when you feel like you’re falling behind — you have to ask for help.”
No one, she said, gets through college on their own.
Interested in using behavioral science to help more students get to and through college?
A new guide— Nudges, Norms, and New Solutions —is now available for educators as they develop strategies to assist college-bound students. A Nudge Hotline has also been established to help counselors and others customize the guide’s advice for the communities they serve.
Both the guide and the hotline are free and were developed through a collaboration between the Nudge4 Solutions Lab at the University of Virginia and ideas42, a nonprofit that applies behavioral science to today’s toughest social problems.
Former First Lady Michelle Obama’s Reach Higher initiative is a project partner. Topics covered in the guide include access to college, student finances, and college life and academics.
New data show that racial disparities persist in school discipline, despite efforts to reduce the imbalance.
Federal statistics from the 2015-16 school year demonstrate that black students, along with Hispanic males and American Indians, face greater rates of suspension, expulsion, and arrest than their white classmates.
What got you through the admission process this year? How many hours did you devote to college search and selection? And how much money did you spend?
Those are just some of the questions reporters at The New York Times are asking college-bound students and their families. Anyone over 13 can complete a short questionnaire open now on the paper’s website.
Three-quarters of community college presidents report that their institutions are adding new programs or other options to make it easier for students to transfer to four-year universities, according to a new report from Inside Higher Ed and Gallup.
The additions are an attempt to recruit more students and better serve those already enrolled at two-year institutions, survey data from community college presidents shows.
